Subtlelies
by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora
Summary: Rukia was with Renji as they waited for Byakuya to wake, and they begin a conversation that makes Renji realize that his cold captain does care for him.


_Subtlelies_

"Renji? Are your wounds healed?"

Abarai Renji nodded and stared warmly at the petite Shinigami in front of him. She was wearing the strange dress one of the drifters had made, and the red-haired Shinigami was still stunned to see Kuchiki Rukia alive. He still remembered the moment when Kuchiki- _taichō_ had told him coldly that his adopted younger sister was to be executed. And now, after harrowing trials including near death and imprisonment, Renji stood warmly beside his old friend who meant so much to him. He remembered of the moment when Kuchiki- _taichō_ had stood in his path, emotionless and apathetic as Renji fought him and vowed on his soul that he would save Rukia.

He had wanted to kill Kuchiki Byakuya, having hated him from afar and at the same time bowing down to him in respect. Who would not respect him if not for his abilities? When he had been accepted as his vice-captain, Renji had been uncertain with how he had felt. He was going to live and serve the Shinigami who took Rukia away from him, and one step closer to the noble who he grudgingly respected the most. It was very confusing. Looking back at it now, the red-haired Shinigami thought of how he had thought he would win. He had watched Kuchiki- _taichō_ , yes, but he did not know everything. And Renji had foolishly thought that his heart would be able to destroy Kuchiki- _taichō_.

He remembered as the _bankai_ slashed through him, feeling the minuscule blades tear his flesh, leaving blood leaking from his multiple wounds and his long hair untied. He felt the small blade against his neck again, hearing his _taichō_ 's cold words in his mind. Renji had woken, finding Kuchiki- _taichō_ above him, ordering the Shinigami who had healed him to transport him to a cell. It was only later when he had been informed his _taichō_ was unconscious in the Fourth Division headquarters. He had no idea why, after his surgery and his would had mostly healed, he had decided to stay by Kuchiki- _taichō_ 's side and stayed with him, watching the unaware Kuchiki whose expression looked so peaceful. _He looks different,_ Renji had thought as he stared at his superior.

 _Less like his arrogant self._ He had heard that the captain had intervened and had saved Rukia from death. Grievously wounded, it was said, and the Shinigami was not yet recovering from his wounds during his battle with Kurosaki Ichigo. Rukia had told Renji of how Kuchiki- _taichō_ had bled so much, making it hard for him to speak the words he wanted to hear so much. She had told him the truth that had been hidden for so long. Renji had heard that Kuchiki- _taichō_ had been married and that he prayed to his wife every year on the anniversary of her death, but had not known that his captain had married the older sister of the Shinigami in front of him.

" _She felt guilty for abandoning me,"_ Rukia had whispered, glancing at her adoptive older brother as he lied unconscious. _"And he searched for me…and he adopted me into the family, to be the brother that my sister had wanted. She made him promise that he would protect me."_ Her posture was stiff, and Renji noted of the grief shadowing her face. _"And he protected me…from Aizen…despite his injuries."_ Her fingers curled, and Rukia's violet eyes became swollen with emotion so deep Renji knew he could not follow her. _"He could have died, and yet he protected me."_ The adopted Kuchiki had told him of the reason why her older brother had allowed her execution to commence.

" _He had made a promise…one his parents' graves that he would never break any rule again after I was adopted into the family. I can't truly imagine what it must have felt,"_ Rukia had confessed. Her expression became somber and she fell silent clutching her hands as Renji absorbed this new information of his _taichō_. He had not known that the male Kuchiki was capable of such emotion and loyalty. _I'm glad my life isn't that complicated,_ Renji thought with relief. He realized now that he didn't know anything about his _taichō_. He had watched the male Kuchiki for one hundred years and had thought he knew everything about him…but there were sacred secrets in his heart that he would not share. "What it must have been like to lie to everyone about his true heart, including himself?" Rukia continued to whisper.

"I guess he really does care," Renji sighed as he looked briefly at the unconscious captain before staring at the sky. "I didn't think he had any emotion really, and didn't give a shit about his subordinates…but I guess he truly has feelings deep down." It was almost like a dream, but Renji could feel his _taichō_ 's scarf around his bloodied body, covering his wounds and slightly red with blood. _Did that really happen?_ In the decades the red-haired Shinigami had been his vice-captain, Renji had not seen Kuchiki- _taichō_ ever take off of his scarf, even when he was training.

Renji had thought it was something nobles wore and prized over, but then why did his _taichō_ cover him when he was at his feet, defeated? _It was silk,_ Renji remembered, feeling the smoothness against his abused skin. _It was soft too, for some reason. "Taichō_ covered me with that scarf of his after he defeated me even though it got covered in blood in the end. It must just be a noble's fashion. I don't know what happened to it," Renji continued musing as Rukia stared at him in shock with his violet eyes wide. "I have no idea where it is now, but –" Renji felt Rukia's stare, and was shocked to find her violet orbs wide and her mouth open in a gasp.

"Renji," she said breathlessly, "that scarf…isn't _just_ a piece of fashion. It's…" she swallowed, and Renji could only stare as awe at him and at the unconscious Kuchiki. "That scarf is the heirloom of the Kuchiki clan. Its handed down from clan head to clan head for generations. It's as old as the Kuchiki clan itself."

"So it's really old," Renji said without a pause, and he noted a vein starting to pop in Rukia's head. _Hmm…_ Renji thought. _I would if the scarf is older than Captain General-Commander…_

"It's not just that," Rukia said solemnly. "The scarf itself is as much as ten mansions in the Sereitei."

Renji's eyes bulged, and he was about to exclaim when Rukia glared at him to be quiet. "So…Nii-sama must truly care about you if he covered you with that scarf, Renji." A smile, a true smile Renji had not seen since her mentor had died framed her face. "I heard him say to me that he trusted you more than anyone else, and that he apologized for your wounds that he caused."

Renji remembered of how warm the scarf was to his bleeding body, and wouldn't have thought that the one object would have meant so much to the Kuchiki clan. _And to cover me with it…_ Renji thought back to the fight, and remembered of how Kuchiki- _taichō_ had praised him for wounding him, however slightly, and how he lectured him about his _bankai_ and not taking ten years to learn how to control it. Renji too thought of how the captain would often stay up late at night until the candle almost completely burned out, saving him from the work and slave duty Hitsugaya- _taichō_ went through with his vice-captain. He thought of how the Kuchiki would always tell him to rest and not fail him.

"I guess he does," Renji muttered under his breath. _I just never noticed the subtleties._

He stared at the captain who meant so much to the Shinigami across from him, and thought too of how enraged he had been when his _taichō_ had not tried to save Rukia. _I…care for him as well. My hatred I was had is gone now I think, and…perhaps I can truly connect with him now, as superiors and subordinates should._

 _Subtlelies…you're good at that, aren't you?_ Renji looked at the male Kuchiki, his eyes never leaving his captain's pale face. _Someday maybe I can understand you…so I don't have to be an ignorant fool about your feelings._

He smiled, and the two Shinigami waited for their loved one to wake.


End file.
